Appleby discusses peace, religion at Boniuk lecture

By Wesley Chou     11/5/13 6:00pm

The Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance held its first public talk, "Religion and Violent Conflict: Beyond Tolerance, Toward Peacebuilding," Nov. 4  in McMurtry Auditorium. Scott Appleby, the Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, spoke about long-term efforts to foster constructive dialogue between religious communities.

Appleby, a professor of history, said scholars need to move beyond a passive tolerance, which may produce temporary peace but fails to address deeper causes of conflict, and toward a "hard tolerance" based on respectful skepticism. 

"There is a soft and wishy-washy sort of tolerance which involves people who believe little and ask you to do the same so you can meet with each other with low risk," Appleby said. "In criticizing soft tolerance, I do not mean to dismiss it because in many ethnic conflicts, achieving any form of tolerance is a victory. But more important is a hard tolerance, which involves a minimal respect for others and the benefit of the doubt that the other person has carefully considered their views and beliefs." 

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Director of the Boniuk Institute Elaine Ecklund said Appleby was chosen to speak due to Notre Dame's strong program in peace studies and his ability to engage with the public.

"The Kroc Institute at Notre Dame is the best institute in terms of scholarship in peace studies, and [Appleby] is probably the world's leading peace scholar," Ecklund, the chair of the sociology department, said. "When we were trying to find a scholar who is a good speaker, communicates well with a broad audience and has also done cutting-edge work on eradicating religious violence and its conditions, he was our person."

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